When cooking a pot of white rice,
Some knowledge is handy and nice.
It needs to be timed;
Not nickled or dimed.
It's not about throwing some dice.
Once upon a time, yours truly was married to an Asian lady of great talents and skills, one of which she taught me: how to cook white rice. So what did I do when I was off on my own, far, far away from those halcyon days? I forgot how to do it. Until I remembered.
I was surprised to learn how many Asians on the west coast use rice cookers. I understand they can do other things, but I consider them essentially mono-taskers. Like Alton Brown, I have no room for mono-stuff in my kitchen.
This method is extremely simple; but you must pay attention. It had been years since I had rinsed my rice, but three changes of water is what you start with. Next you place 1 cup of rice in 1 3/4 cups water. Set your timer for 20 minutes and hit start. Bring the water and rice to a boil and let it go until the water is absorbed/evaporated to the point where holes punch up through the grains. Reduce the burner to minimum and cover the pot. When the timer goes off, turn off the burner and DO NOT OPEN THE POT FOR 5 MINUTES. Now you drop in a tablespoon of butter (optional) and a sprinkle of salt and fluff with a fork. Serve up rice cumuli to your fans, your family, even your enemies. You will be a conquering hero.
This is very, very similar to how I make my rice.. the only difference is I cover it the entire time. I think the main key is rinsing it.
ReplyDeleteHi Stephen! Another trick to get the correct water-grain ratio when cooking rice:
ReplyDeletePour the rice into the pot you're going to cook it in. Level it out and place your index finger upright so that the finger tip is touching the surface of the rice. Add enough water so that it reaches your first knuckle.
Try it! :D
Hm I do a 1:1 ratio.. I think it depends on the type of rice though!
ReplyDeletegreat tips :-) I must confess we use a rice cooker love steaming veg over it
ReplyDeleteDid living in Denver for a while screw up your rice cooking techniques? You always hear about it with baking but I figure it would cause problems with rice too.
ReplyDeletei have so been wanting a rice cooker. Still do it the old fashioned way but boy would it be nice to have a cooker that did it for me
ReplyDelete